San Diego Gas & Electric Co. ratepayers will pay about $25 million next year to cover some of what the utility spent repairing damage to its property in the 2007 wildfires.

The utility had asked state regulators for approval to charge customers more than $32 million, but a watchdog agency within the state Public Utilities Commission said that would be wrong because investigators had determined that three of the big fires were caused by shoddy maintenance on SDG&E’s power lines.

Friday, SDG&E and the watchdog agency, the Division of Ratepayers Advocates, reached an agreement reducing the amount SDG&E will get by nearly $7 million.

The two sides agreed to disagree on whether SDG&E’s role in starting the fires should mean its shareholders, rather than customers, should have to pay for fire damage.

“This amount is a fair compromise of strongly held views,” the two said in a joint filing with the PUC.

The full commission will have to approve the agreement before the charges go onto customers’ bills.

The extra charges will cost typical customers 38 cents to 75 cents a month depending on the time of year and where they live, said Lee Schavrien, an SDG&E executive.

SDG&E said it spent $112 million repairing its towers, lines and other facilities after the 2007 fires.

The utility has settled allegations that it was to blame by agreeing to pay nearly $14.4 million to the state’s general fund. It continues to deny that it was at fault.